Let It Burn
by GellsBells
Summary: Pre Canon One Shot: Jughead Jones was sent to Juvie for setting fire to the school however Jughead Jones was not the one playing with matches that day, it was Betty Cooper. Jughead though can't let her take the blame.


He could smell the smoke. It permeated the air around him, burning his nose. He is familiar with the scent of something burning, after too many times putting them out. His father falling asleep on the couch, correction, passing out on the couch with a still lit cigarette in his mouth. He would wake up before Jellybean as the familiar scent wafted through the small trailer. He would put out the fire, slapping it with whatever he could find. An old jacket, a new shirt. Never his dad's clothes though they would only add fuel to the fire. Sometimes he would earn himself a backhand for his troubles, waking the sleeping man. Other times it would be as if nothing had happened and he would return to the bedroom that he shared with his sister and try to return to sleep. Knowing that there would be yet another argument when his mum returned home and smelt the burning. She would see the burnt hole in the couch, or the blanket, or the old worn carpet.

She would threaten to leave him again and Jughead just prayed that she loved him enough to take him with her.

It was late after school as he wandered the empty halls, most of his fellow students couldn't wait to leave. To return to the safe haven that was their home. Jughead tried to delay it as much as possible. Never knowing what he was going to walk into when he got there. Some nights it wasn't so bad. His dad wouldn't have drunk as much and his mum may be in a good mood. Those were the bearable nights the ones he hoped for. More often than not he came into a screaming match, accusations flying around the small space as he pulled Jellybean into their room and waited out the storm. Usually his dad leaving again, heading to the bar across town. He knew on those nights he had to be aware. He had to make sure he didn't burn the place down.

He was rounding the corner of his final lap before he relented and made his way home when he smelt it. Smoke, a strong smell of smoke. Almost on instinct he ran in that direction, the smell becoming stronger and stronger as he neared the source. It was coming from one of the classrooms. The door was shut, but the smoke was escaping from the top and the bottom. It wasn't one of the small fires that he had put out at home. This was something much larger and he cursed himself for not having noticed sooner. He could seen through the clear glass pane of teh door that there was a figure inside the room. Smaller than him and for a moment he imagined Jellybean being stuck there. Being stuck behind a fire she couldn't escape.

He opened the door and prepared himself for the backdraft. He pulled off his flannel and put it over his mouth. It was a weak attempt to try and reduce the smoke pouring into his lungs but it helped a little. He made his way over to the figure who seemed to be sitting calmly in the middle of the room. The only sound they emitted was small coughs. His hand landed on their shoulder and they turned to face him.

Betty Cooper. Sweet, innocent, girl next door Betty Cooper was calmly sitting in the middle of the smoke filled room. She eyed him curiously as if she couldn't quite figure out why he might be there or why he might look so distressed, before returning to gaze at the flames in front of her. He pulled her gently. Urging her to follow him to escape the room. Her eyes did not break their gaze the slight shake of her head the only indication that she understood what he wanted. He groaned and pulled on her arm again, stronger this time and yet she still didn't budge.

He lowered his flannel, "Betty," he managed to choke out. She blinked and it was as if she returned to herself. Her eyes grew panicked and darted around the room. A scream left her mouth and Jughead gave her his flannel to hold against her mouth as he pulled her from the room. He placed her up against the outside of the door as he looked around for the extinguisher. She had pulled her legs up to her chest and was rocking now. Her face buried against her knees. He went back into the room and pointed the extinguisher at the desk that had caught fire. The flames calmed and he now pointed it at the source of the fire. A metal bin with numerous papers in it. Once he was satisfied that everything was covered in a sufficient amount of white foam he returned to the outside of the room to the hallway.

He dropped the extinguisher to the floor with a loud thunk, jolting Betty to look up at him while he bent over his hands braced on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath. He could now hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance and realised a silent alarm must have been triggered or maybe had seen the smoke. Betty returned her face to her knees and began muttering as she rocked back and forth. He took another deep breath. Filling his lungs with air that was cleaner and less painful. He moved to the wall Betty was leaning against and slumped against it himself. He folded his knees up like hers and rested his head against the wall. He tried to contemplate what had just happened. Why Betty Cooper of all people was setting a fire on school grounds perplexed him.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was small and quiet. It didn't sound like the Betty Cooper that he knew. She was sunshine, happiness and everything that was good in this world. To him she was perfect.

"It's okay Betty." The sirens were growing louder now and he knew that soon enough the fire department would be coming through the main doors to put out the fire that he had already extinguished. And then there would be questions.

"No it's not, Jug." She was the only person who could get away with calling him that. Coming from anyone else's mouth it would have sounded wrong, but from hers. "I don't know what happened." She looked up at him briefly and he could see the tears behind her eyes as well as the fear in her voice. "I was just practicing for the debate this weekend. It's the finals you know." He didn't but he nodded anyway. "I've been practicing so hard, but -" her voice broke as she choked down a cry. It was starting to bubble to the surface now, she sniffed loudly, taking a large breath to keep it under control. "I just can't get it right, and Mom says that I need to work harder but I am and -". He took hold of her hand without thinking. Holding it steady in his own as she lost her words again. She started to cry in earnest now, unable to keep her tears at bay any longer.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his side. His hand still clasped around her own as she sobbed into his body. He had done this before, comforted Jellybean just like this on the bad nights. But with Betty it felt different, he pushed those feelings down as deep as they would go. There was no point hoping for something that couldn't happen. "My mom is going to be so angry," she spoke into his chest. Jughead had seen the wrath of Alice Cooper before. When they all played together as children she had always shouted at Betty, put her down. Betty had once told him in secret all the things that she said to her. How she compared her to Polly. That no matter how hard she tried she would never be as special, as smart, as talented as her big sister. He hated to think what she would do if Betty was caught setting fires, what she might do to Betty.

"I'll tell them it was me." She looked up at him immediately, her eyes searching his own, before she shook her head.

"No, I won't let you. I did it." She was straightening her body moving away from his own and Jughead could already see her putting back on the mask that she wore. Sweet, innocent, girl next door Betty Cooper. She needed that mask to survive, he wasn't going to see it taken away from her.

"Look, they expect this kind of stuff from me." He doubted his family would even take notice at this point. His parents were too wrapped up in their own problems to notice something like this. Besides it was only a small fire, an accident. " It will be one more little point of interest on my school record. Might even get me some street cred." He smiled weakly at his attempt at humour and Betty could only smile in response. "Betty." He removed his arm from around her and shifted his body around to face her. "You are going to do great things, you're smart and kind and I don't want a silly mistake or accident to ruin that. Let me do this for you."

She closed her eyes and nodded, not able to look him in the eyes as the decision was made. He pulled her hands to his own and placed a gentle kiss across against her knuckles before jerking back in surprise at his own actions. Her eyes were wide as she looked from their clasped hands to his face, before the loud sound of footsteps coming from the hall behind them snapped them out of their moment.

"You kids okay?" They both stood up, Jughead helping to pull Betty up as they both leant up against the wall behind them for support. "What happened here?" Jughead cleared his throat before speaking.

"Betty put out the fire," he started weaving his story, it wasn't the first time he had lied to someone and it would not be the last. "I was playing with some matches in the classroom and the fire got out of control. It was stup-"

"Damn right it was stupid." The fire officer interrupted him and he prepared himself for the lecture that he knew was coming. "We are going to need to take you down to the station. Sheriff Keller is going to want to know about this." The officer moved to take hold of Jughead and Betty stepped between them.

"No," she shouted, squaring her shoulders as she looked directly at the officer. Jughead moved out from behind her and stepped to go along with the officer. She looked at him confused. As another officer shouted from the classroom that it was all clear.

"It's okay, Betts." Jughead said as he let the officer lead him back down the hallway to no doubt a lecture from the fire department and the sheriff's office. He looked back over his shoulder to see Betty being wrapped in a blanket by another member of the fire department and smiled to himself. He, Jughead Jones had saved Betty Cooper.


End file.
